Article of footwear embodying flock-coated outsole



Dec. 22, 1953 G, @555, JR 2,663,097

ARTICLE OF FOOTWEAR EMBODYING FLOCK-COATED ou'rsouz Filed July 21. 1952 IN V EN TOR.

Alfiai 6'. fi'ieszgd).

BY v

23% ATM ARTICLE oF FOOTWEAR EMBODYING FLOCK-COATED OUTSOLE Alfred G. diese, Jr., Princeton, Wis., assignor to Handcraft Company, Inc., Princeton, Wis., a

corporation of -Wisconsin v Anplication'Julyzl, 1952, SerialNo.-300,028

2 Claims. (01.3641) The present invention relates to footwcan,

and more particularly to footwear having an outsole coated with dyed fibrous material so that it-matches the colorr' 'of the upper, or artistically contrasts with the color of the upper.

More specifically, the invention relates to leisure footwear having a thick outsole of sponge rubber, foam rubber, crepe rubber or the like, at least the 'periph'eral'edges of which have been coated with flocculent-material to improve the appearance and wear-qualities thereof.

The principal object-of'the invention is to provide footwear-having}outsoles whose exposed surfaces are covered with a layer of decorative, coloredmaterial to *enhancethe normal plain appearancethereof. g 7

Another objectofthe invention is to provide an outsole adaptedfor use with various types of footwear,-and which will improve the appearance and wearoualities of such footwear when attached thereto. i

A further and more specific object of the invention is to provide an' outsole having its edges and/or one or both 'sides thereof covered with fiocculent material to increase the attractivelness thereof. 1 r

A still further object of the invention is to provide a porous sponge rubber or foam rubber outsole which has all or part of the exposed celluilar surfaces" thereof sealed with'an adhesive and v Fig. 3 is a 'verti'cal'sectional view taken on the line 3--3 of FigLfljand if V Fig. 4 is a fragmentary,--schematic sectional view through one edgeof' the outsole taken on Referring now to Fig. 1 of the drawings, the complete article of footwear is generally identified by the numeral I and comprises an upper 2 made of cloth or other suitable material in the manner fully disclosed in the copending application of Preston E. Hiestand, Ser. No. 292,707 filed June 10. 1952, and which upper per se forms 1y simplifies manufacturing procedure.

no part of the present invention, although certain portions thereof will, of necessity, be described herein. Thus, the upper 2 comprises double-thickness. side wall portions 3 and 4 hav- --ing the lower edges thereof turned laterally outwardly to form a flange 5. An insole 6 of canvas, or any other suitable material, underlies the flanges 5 of the side walls 3 and 4, as best shown in Fig. 3. The insole 6 is secured to the flange portions 5 by stitches 1 diagrammatically illustrated in Fig. 3. A double-thickness toe portion 8 having an extension forming a tongue 9 is secured to the side walls 3 and 4 by stitches 40, also diagrammatically shown in Fig. 3. A tie cord' H is threaded through suitable openings formed in the tongue 9 and in the side wall portions 3 and 4 and is adapted to be pulled tight to draw the side walls snugly about the ankle of the wearer and to have its ends tied in a bowknot over thetongue to retain the article on the foot of the wearer.

Thexoutsoleis"generally identified. by the numeral 12 and may be made of any suitable material but is preferably made of yieldable, cushion-like material, such as, sponge rubber, foam rubber, crepe rubber, etc. When the outsole I2 is made of cellular sponge or foam rubber, it is preferred to make the same of a thickness of about /2 to 1" in order to provide a yieldable support affording a feeding of springiness and great comfort to the foot of the wearer.

The outsole l2 has a top surface i3, a bottom surface l4, and a side or peripheral edge [5 which comforms tothecontour of the insole 6. In the present instance, the contour of the outsole I2 is such that it maybe used for footwear to be worn on either the left orv theiright foot. This great- However, it is to be understood that any desired contour may be given" to the outsole, without deviating from the principles of the invention.

Sponge and foam rubber soles, while they may be formed of compositions having coloring matter added thereto,.nevertheless, present surfaces at which a substantial number of the openings comprising the1cel1s thereof are exposed, thereby detracting from the appearance of the soles as a whole. The present invention contemplates coating at-least the edges, and one or both sides of such soles, with a suitable flock, such as minute particles of rayon, nylon, cotton, wool, hair,- etc. to conceal such openings and at the same time enhance the appearance of the soles. The flock material is preferably dyed a desired color before application to the outsole.

In applying the flock material to the outsole 12, those portions of the outsole which are to be ings may be applied, although a single coating has been found to be satisfactory. Such coating. or

coatings at least seal the outer poresiofthe outsole to which the same is applied. In any event, the latex or other adhesive-used: is preferably of a quick-drying character'so that substantiallyimmediately after application of the adhesive, the flock can be applied. While the adhesive is still in a tacky condition, dry flock is blown onto the adhesive by an air gun, or sprinkled onto the adhesive by hand, an excess being deposited so that upon pressing? the flock' against the outsole, by handror by rollers,,a uniformlayerof the flock adheres to theoutsole. After the; adhesive has thoroughly dried, the superfluous flock .can' be readily removed by vigorously shaking the outsole,. or by brushing the: outsole. The flock on the finished outsole presents the appearance. of a nap and: serves the. practical purposes of cover ing uptheexposed cells or pores of the sponge or foamrubber outsole, and. at the same time, in creases the wear. qualities of. the outsole by reinforcing. the cells against tearing or rupturing in the coated areas when in use.

Only the edge; [5 of? the outsole. l2 need be coated with. flock- However, as shown: in Fig. 4, the edge [5' and therbottom or. lower surface M of the outsole I2 are. completely covered with flock. The entire; upper surface. E3 of the outsole may also be' coated. with flock, if. desired. Insteadaof' coatingthe: entire: upper surface iii, the same may be left uncoated. Alternatively, onlythemarginal portion of. the-surface I3 at the. edge 15. may. be: coated. Thelatter isdesirablerforthe reason that the=upper surface :3 of theroutsole I2 is. normally secured to the. outer side of': the: insole 6 by a. layer of latex or other suitable, quick-drying; cement I8, as shown in Fig; 3,, and: it. is preferredthat any partof the surface l3; that: may be inadvertently left exposed at: the. edge of; the. insole 6- present the same appearanceas theedge. 1.5;.rather. than the color of the uncoatedoutsole. Thus,. a neat'appearance at the juncture Qftheouteredge of the insoles and the upperedge of theoutsole I2; is assured.

It is;preferable:to: employ an'adhesive l6 that is-of' the same.- color as the flock material ll, althougha clear; colorless adhesive may be. em ployed, if desired; Theflock. coating may be of the samecolor asthe. materialzemployedrin making the upper zior 'may be a harmonizing orv contrasting color. For example, the upper 2 may be made of bright yellow cloth and the adhesive 16 and flock. I! on the. outsole- [2 may be dark brown.

It will be. appreciated that the flock on the outsole need not all be of the same color. For example, the side edge I5 of the outsole 12 may be covered with flock of one color and the bottom I4 at .home, at the beach, etc.

4 covered with flock of a different color. Also,- mixtures of flock materials or varicolored flock may be applied to all or any part of the outsole to provide an infinite variety of patterns and color tones.

The completed article of footwear is extremely light in weight and the combination of the cloth upper 2 and yieldable outsole l-Z impart to the feet of the wearer a feeling of lightness and springiness not achieved by ordinary footwear. The present footwear is adapted for leisure wear The flock coating, in addition to being attractive, also improves the. wear qualitiesiof the article.

It will be understood that-the. invention is not limited to theapplication of flock'tooutsoles of any given. thickness, nor to outsoles made of any particular base material. Thus, various departures may be made from the specific outsole disclosed herein, without departing from the principles of the invention or the scope of the annexed claims.

I claim-1 '1; An article of footwear, comprising: anupper having an. insole; a cellular sponge rubber outsole having a top surface,- a bottom surface, and a peripheral edge having open cells, said out-sole conforming'closely to the contour of said insole; means securing said outsole to said insole with the topface of said outsole confronting said insole; a substantial coating of flexible and resilient adhesive material-substantially entirely covering the peripheral edge and the bottom surface of said outsole; and a layer of flock substantially entirely covering said adhesive coating material and bonded thereto; whereby the'adhesive material and flock coating close said cells and reinforce the outsole against tearingor rupturing in the coatedv areas when in use;

2. An article of footwear, comprising: an upper having an insole; a cellular, rubber outsole having a top surface, a bottom surface; and a peripheral edge conforming closely to the contour of said insole; means securing said outsole to said insole with the top face of said outsole confronting said insole; a substantial coating of flexible and resilient adhesive materialsubstantially entirely covering the peripheral edge, the bottom surface and the marginal portion of the top surface of said outsole; and a layer of flock substantially entirely covering said adhesive coating material and bonded thereto.

ALFRED G; GIESE,. JR.

References Cited i n-the file Of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

